The garden party
They need not have worried. The weather was perfect—warm，and without a cloud in the sky.The gardener had been at work since dawn，cutting and brushing the lawns，until the green grass shone. And the roses—the roses were wonderful.Hundreds of flowers had opened during the night.You could almost believe that the roses knew about the garden party!
While the Sheridan girls were having breakfast，the men came with the marquee.
‘Where shall we put the marquee，mother？’asked Meg.
‘My dear child，please don't ask me.I'm determined to make you children organize everything this year.Forget that I am your mother.Pretend I'm one of your guests.’
But Meg could not possibly talk to the men.She had just washed her hair.Jose，as usual，wasn't even dressed yet.
‘You'll have to go，Laura. You're the artistic one in this family.’
Laura flew out of the house，still holding a piece of bread and butter in her hand. Food always tasted delicious out of doors，and Laura loved arranging things. She always felt that she could do it better than anyone else.
Four men were waiting on the garden path.They were carrying big bags of tools，and looked very serious.Laura wished she had left her bread and butter in the house.She blushed，and tried to look businesslike.
‘Good morning，’she said，copying her mother's voice.But it sounded so silly that she was ashamed，and asked，just like a little girl，‘Oh，have you come—is it about the marquee？’
‘That's right，miss，’said the tallest of the men.He pushed back his hat and smiled down at her.
His smile was so friendly that Laura felt better immediately. What nice eyes he had—small，but a lovely dark blue！All the men were smiling now.‘Cheer up！We won't bite！’they seemed to be saying.How very nice workmen were！And what a beautiful morning！She mustn't mention the morning；she must be businesslike.The marquee.
‘Well，shall we put it on the lawn over there？’
She pointed with the hand that was not holding the bread and butter.They all turned and stared.The tall man frowned.
‘I don't like it，’he said.‘You wouldn't notice it there.You see，with a thing like a marquee，you want it where it hits you—bang in the eye，as you might say.’
Laura had been brought up in a way which made her wonder for a moment whether a workman should use an expression like‘bang in the eye’to her.But she understood what he meant.
‘A corner of the tennis court，’she suggested.‘But the band's going to be in one corner.’
‘Having a band，are you？’said another workman.He was pale，with a tired look in his dark eyes.What was he thinking?
‘Only a very small band，’Laura said gently.Perhaps he wouldn't mind a very small band. But the tall man said，‘Look here，miss，that's the place.By those trees.Over there.’
By the karaka trees.The marquee would hide them.And the karaka trees were so lovely，with their big，shiny leaves and orange fruit.Must they be hidden by a marquee?
They must.The men were already carrying their bags of tools across the lawn.Only the tall man was left.Suddenly，he bent down touched a rose，and pulled it gently towards him to smell it.
When Laura saw him do that，she forgot about the karakas.He was a workman who loved the perfume of roses.How many of the men that she knew cared about things like that？Oh，how nice workmen are，she thought.Why couldn't she have them for her friends，instead of the silly boys she danced with and who came to Sunday night supper？She liked these men much better.
It's all the fault，she decided，of these stupid differences in social class.Well，for her there were no differences.Absolutely none at all，not a single one...And now there came the sound of hammers.Someone whistled，someone called out，‘Are you all right，mate？’‘Mate！’How friendly they were！Just to show how happy she was，how she liked being among these friendly men，Laura took a big bite out of her bread and butter. She felt just like a workgirl.
‘Laura，Laura，where are you？Telephone，Laura！’a voice cried from the house.
‘Coming！’She ran across the lawn，up the path and into the house.In the hall，her father and Laurie were brushing their hats，getting ready to go to the office.
‘I say，Laura，’said Laurie，‘take a look at my coat，can you，before this afternoon？I think it needs ironing.’
‘All right，’she said.Suddenly，she couldn't stop herself.She ran up to Laurie and threw her arms around him.‘Oh，I do love parties，don't you！’she cried.
‘I'll say I do！’said Laurie's warm，boyish voice.He gave his sister a gentle push.‘Run off to the phone，old girl.’
The telephone.‘Yes，yes；oh yes.Kitty？Good morning，dear.Come to lunch，my dear！It will be nothing special—just what's left over.Yes，isn't it a perfect morning？Yes，wear your white dress.One moment—mother is saying something.’
Mrs Sheridan's voice floated down the stairs.‘Tell her to wear that sweet hat she wore last Sunday.’
‘Mother says you must wear that sweet hat you wore last Sunday.Good.One o'clock.Byebye！’
Laura put down the phone，took a deep breath，and stretched out her arms.Then she stood still，listening.The house was alive with sounds of running feet and distant voices.Somewhere down in the kitchen，a door opened and closed.Sunlight，and little warm winds，played in and out of the windows. Darling little winds.
The doorbell rang，and she heard a man's voice and then Sadie saying，‘I'm sure I don't know.Wait.I'll ask Mrs Sheridan.’
‘What is it，Sadie？’Laura came into the hall.
‘The flowers have come from the shop，Miss Laura.’
And there they were，by the door.Box after box，full of pots of pink lilies.No other kind. Nothing but lilies，big pink flowers，wide open and almost frighteningly alive.
